Post-office furniture.



No. 764,299. PATUNTEU JULY 5, 1904.

U. J. MAUSB.

POST OFFICE FURNITURE.

APPLICATION FILED APB.. 7, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

MHH!

f N 2i UNITED STATES Patented July 5, 1904,

PATENT EEICE.

JOSEPH J. MARSH, OF DECORAH, IOXVA.

POST-OFFICE FURNITURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. I764,299, dated July 5,1904.

" Appnouaninea April '7, 1904. serai no. 202,118. No man.;

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH J. MARSH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Decorah,

in the county of Winneshiek and State of Iowa, have invented certain newand useful 1mprovements in Post-Ofice Furniture,of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to post-ofhce furniture, and is especially adaptedfor use in assorting newspapers for individual delivery.

It is customary in distributing newspapers and periodicals by mail fromthe ofice of publication to the various subscribers to send them in bulkpackages with no separate wrapper provided for the individual paperstherein to post-offices located in populous centers, each papercontained in the package having the individual address of the subscriberfor whom it is intended stamped in a suitable manner thereon. The bulkpackages are then opened by the post-office employees and the variouspapers assorted for delivery tothe subscribers as per the specificaddress thereon. In asserting these unwrapped papers through the mediumAof the usual pigeon-hole case they are constantly mutilated and damaged,often tearing off portions or blurring the exposed pages to such anextent as to be unreadable. lt is the object of my invention to obviatethis objection; and t0 this end it consists in the details ofconstruction and in the arrangement and combination of parts to behereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings, which form part of this speciiication and whereinlike characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the severalviews, and in whichd Figure l is a side elevation of my invention; Fig.2, an end View; Fig. 3, a plan view; Fig. 4, a longitudinal verticalsection on the line a a of Fig. 3, with the hinged septa removed Fig. 5,a transverse section on the line I) of Fig. 3, and Fig. 6 a detail viewof one of the septa.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a base provided with suitablesupports A, and

preferably closed on three sides by the end pieces A2 A3 andthe sidepiece Af. The base A is provided with two parallel longitudinal groovesA5 and f in its upper surface, having the perpendicular outer edges A7and AS. Secured in said grooves against the respective outer edges A7and AS are the strips A and A'". These strips are provided with a seriesof corresponding transverse apertures A and A. Arranged in alinelnentbetween the strips A" and A10 and pivoting' in the apertures A| and A12are aseries of hinged septa B. Said septa are preferably made from asingle piece of spring-wire bent to form an enlarged rectangular baseB', having the outwardly-extcnding portions B2 and B3, adapted to springinto the apertures A11 and A12 and pivotally secure the septa to thestrips A and Aw. The septa are also provided with the upwardly-extendinghandle B4, adapted to circumferentially restrain a disk B5, upon whichis indicated a desired letter of the alphabet. The lower edge of thebase B is formed of the upwardly-extending' portions B and B7, whichterminate centrally of said base.

The manner of using my device will be apparent. The spaces between thesepta vary in size to suit the prevailing preponderence of namesbeginning with certain letters of the alphabet, and the space betweensaid'septa may be readily changed by simply compressing its basetransversely in opposite directions, thereby removing' theoutwardly-extending portions B and B3 from their respectivepivot-sockets, when said se pta may be moved the required distance andpivoted in its new position by releasing the compression of thesepta-baseibefore mentioned. To assort papers between any desired septa,it is only necessary to separate them by moving one about its pivotthrough themedium of the handle B4, thus permitting ready access to thespace therebetween.

It will be noted that while I have described a preferred form of myinvention herein various changes in details of construction andarrangement and combination of parts may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new. and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a device of the character described the combination With a baseand supports therefor; of a series of septa detachably hingedl to saidbase in horizontal alinement, each of said septa being formed of anintegral piece of spring-Wire. I

2. In a mail-asserting device, a base provided With a centrallongitudinal groove having parallel sides, each of said sides beingprovided vvith corresponding apertures and a seriesol septa adapted tonormally sprin g into and pivot in said apertures.

3. In a mail-assorting device, a base provided With a longitudinalgroove, having parallel sides. each of said sides being providedwithcorresponding apertures and a series of septa adapted to normally pivotin said apertures and capable of transverse compression whereby same maybe removed from pivotal connection with one corresponding set ofapertures and pivotally connected With another corresponding set ofapertures' at will.,

4:. In a device of the character described the combination with a baseand supports therefor; of a series of septa each constructed of anintegral piece of Wire bent to form an enlarged base and anupwardly-extending handle adapted to support an indicating-disk andmeans for pivotally connecting said septa Vto the base in horizontalalinement.

5. In a device of the character described the combination with a base,rand supports therefor; of a series of septa pivotally connected withsaid base in horizontal alinement and adapted to be released bycompression from said pivotal connection.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence oi' two Witnesses.

JOSEPH J. MARSH. Witnesses:

A. E. KENYO, J. H. HARGREAvEs.

